Portable drying apparatus.



. N. E. EWART.

PORTABLE DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.21, I917.

Patented May 28, 1918.

ATTXS- NELLIE E. EWART, OF ARLINGTON, MASSClHUSETTS.

roarnnnn DRYING Arrnnli'rus.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NELLIE E. EWART, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ar lington, in the county of Middlesex and ,State of Massachusetts, haveinvented new and useful Improvements 'in Portable Drying Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a portable drying apparatus for household use, adapted to be inserted in the oven of a stove or range, and to hold a pluralit of trays, charged with fruit or other foo in position to permit the hot air in the oven to have free access to the charges and cause the evaporation, of moisture from said charges, and to permit a practically unobstructed escape of the evaporated moisture from the charges. L

The invention consists in the improvements which I will now proceed to describe and claim. .F

Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specificat1on,-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the skeleton frame of my improved apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the trays.

Fig. .3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. A: is .a fragmentary sectional view showing a portion of the frame and portions of two of the trays.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the figures;

My improved drying apparatus com rises a skeleton frame, includin openwork ame ends ada ted to horizonta y support a plurality o shallow trays havin foraminous bottoms. Each tray may inclu e a rectangular sheet metal curb 12 and a woven wire bottom 13.

The openwork frame ends are formed to support the trays spaced from each other and to permit a practically unobstructed escape of vapor from the tra s through said frame ends. 'Each frame end is composed of two upright members or standards 14,- and a plurality of horizontal members 15 extending between and riveted or otherwise attached to thestandards, said horiiontal members being formed as runs adapted to guide and. support the trays. The members l4 and 15 may .be formed by sheet metal strips riveted together at 20, as shown by Figs. 1 and 4. .f 7

The standards 14 form'opposite ends of Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 21,

Patented May as, i918. 1917. Serial No.187, 45 0.

tray-receiving openings at opposite sidesof the frame, and these sides may be termed the front and rear sides. The members or rims 15 project into said openings, so that the .trays maybe inserted in the openings and moved along the runs to their operative positions within the frame. The frame ends are connected by frame members 16, forming opposite sides of bottom and top openings in the frame. The members 14 and 16 may be parts of a single strip bent into rec- I tangular form and suitably united at its ends. Two substantially rectangular parallel frame elements are therefore provided, each composed of two upright members or standards 14, and two horizontal members 16, one of said elements forming an open front portion and the other an open rear portion. The lower members 16 form feet adapted to rest on an oven bottom, and the uppermemhere 16 form opposite sides of an open frame top. Said rectangular elements are connected and maintained spaced apart from each other by the runs 15. When thetrays charged with material to be dried are in their operative positions, the apparatus as a whole may be' inserted in an oven and supported by the bottom of the latter. The hot air in the oven has free access to the charges through the foraminous bottoms of the trays,

the openwork frame ends, the front and rear side openings, and the bottom and top open ings of the frame. .A practically unobstructed escape of the moisture evaporated from the charges is permitted through the openwork frame ends, the 'front and rear openings, and the top opening of the frame. The oven door should be left ajar to permit the escape of the evaporated moisture fi'om the oven.

The horizontal members 16 ofsaid frame elements maybe connected b transverse members 18, the upper one 0 which may constitute a handle.

e seen that the skeleton frame apart feet formed by the hori- Iciaira:

A portable drying apparatus comprising two suhstantiaiiy reetaiiguiar frame elements, formed of metal strips bent and united to form upright end portions and horizontai top and. bottom portions, said elements constituting an open front and an open rear of a skeleton frame in which trays may be inserted, horizontal tray runs attached to said upright portions and conneoting the rectangular elements in spaced relation, saici rims projecting into the from:

Laeae'aa' and rear openings hounded Fey saici flame elements, and a plurality of trays moyabie through said openings and supported by 15 said runs, said skeleton frame having spaced apart feet; formed by said horizontal bottom portions and adapted to rest on an oven hott sigiiature. 

